It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here.

Honestly, I’m too busy living life these days to have much time to write about it.

Overall, all is well. E continues to grow, learn, and thrive. She’s a very good baby. Last month, we all went on an overnight trip down to Sarasota (as well as L and I spending an overnight in Orlando alone another weekend). Both mini-breaks went off without a hitch.

L has finished her maternity leave and started back to work at the beginning of this month. That was a little hard on her, but it is made much easier by the fact that my mother is providing E with all of the love and attention she needs during the day.

Last weekend, we celebrated Mother’s Day. This was very emotional for L (not surprisingly), as one year ago she was in the midst of stimulating for IVF cycle #1 and now she’s a mommy (and an excellent one at that). She’s really taken to motherhood, and she’s clearly grateful that we’ve been so fortunate to have E.

Harley (our doggie son) has continued to have medical issues… the diabetes and stomach issues have been resolved, but now he’s got eye problems. We’re trying to heal an ulcer in his right eye. After that, he’ll need to have cataracts removed in both eyes — all told, I think his medical bill totals will break into five figures. Good grief. But, we don’t have the heart to give up on him, because H is still a happy and loving little dog.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few recent pics of the kiddo:

Too cute, I say!

We returned home on Sunday after an enjoyable and relaxing vacation. The Alaskan cruise was perfect given the circumstances — right amount of activity, relaxation, etc. L continues to feel and do fine. We’re now into the 2nd trimester (week #14 today). And it’s so far, so good.

I’m back off to Minneapolis this week for work (left this afternoon). It’s been a hectic past few weeks for me in terms of travel. I **think** I’ll have been home a total of 5 or 6 days in the past 4+ weeks. Fortunately, I should have a two week break after this trip.

We’re still in Alaska. L is doing well, and we are having a great time. The weather had been favorable and the scenery fantastic.

Full details are posted on our travel blog.

I’ve discovered that while men don’t seem to generally want to talk about infertility when they’re in the midst of it, they seem to positively gush out details after they’ve successfully had children. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard all sorts of stories related to infertility, miscarriage, and childbirth.

These same men are also really willing to “tell their stories” about fatherhood. I’m going to start recording some of the more interesting observations and experiences here (after making them anonymous). I’m particularly interested by their willingness to share the raw emotion (good and bad) associated with these experiences.

In other news…

We spent some time this weekend getting ready for the trip. L was struggling with packing, because some of her clothing is starting not to fit properly. Due to her now more ample cleavage, many of her tops are either 1) actually too small, or 2) simply looking too good on (if you know what I mean). Pants are also becoming a struggle, as she doesn’t like anything too tight. It’s a challenge…

L is going for her next OB check-up this week. I’ll make sure to post details on it.

I’m headed to Washington DC tomorrow.

The Bahamas trip was nice: relaxing and uneventful.

The morning drive down to Miami was pleasant.

We enjoyed lunch aboard after embarking, explored the ship (very similar to the NCL Sun from last April), and then promptly took a nap. We awoke for the muster drill (least favorite part of cruising), had “drinks” at the Atrium Bar while sailing out of Miami (note: L’s never really been a consumer of adult beverages, so the prohibition on alcohol during pregnancy is a non-event for her), went back to the cabin for the PIO shot, and then ate dinner at Il Adagio (the ship’s Italian eatery). Later in the evening, we went to the “Welcome Aboard” show, during which I became part of the act after being brought on stage by the ship’s comedian.

Saturday morning we arrived in Nassau. We awoke and enjoyed an early al fresco breakfast at the Lido deck buffet, known as The Great Outdoors. We explored downtown Nassau in the morning hours and returned to the ship in time for lunch. This was followed by a repeat of day #1: reading, nap, drinks, dinner (this time at Cagney’s, the ship’s steakhouse at sea). We skipped the evening entertainment.

Sunday was at NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay (how apropos, no?). We’d just been on the island last October. So, we opted to avoid the crowds and enjoy having the ship to ourselves. Once again, the day pretty much consisted of a string of meals, followed by periods of reading, talking, and relaxation.

We returned to Miami early Monday morning and drove home.

We’re normally overseas for at least part of June. And this trip certainly doesn’t compare to last June’s 23-day European odyssey (not that we thought it would!).

But, all in all, it was a fun mini-holiday.

Best of all, it was uneventful, which I greatly appreciated as I had some mild anxiety about “things going wrong” with the pregnancy while at sea. This gives me confidence about our planned trip to London in August. Of course, we’ll have to see what the next few weeks bring.